“When you look at them all together, there’s no indication they come from the same nation,” said Mitchell.

Mitchell, who works for product design firm Bresslergroup in Philadelphia, took a look at the flags of all 50 states and was bothered by the lack of a blanket design scheme. “Discordant” was how he described them as a group on the project’s website. They also broke every rule of flag design. Yes, there are rules to flag design.

Those rules include simplicity (meaning a child could draw it from memory), relevant symbolism, no more than three basic colors, no text or seals, and a distinctive look that doesn’t ape other flags.

Mitchell set about unifying color and proportion across all fifty flags, using a vibrant red, white, and blue for each, while retaining some sense of symbolism for each. Mitchell only wanted to use the colors in the American flag. He says that what he ended up with represents a more united America.

As they stand now, our state flags have no unity, Mitchell says.

The project is reminiscent of designer Max O’Brien’s recent reworking of NFL team logos where all the teams in the league got gnarly redesigns. The Oakland Raiders’ new logo only needed two Glock pistols to make it really pop.

The crisply-designed and colored new flags bring to mind international maritime signal flags or Boy Scout badges. Mitchell took away Mississippi’s Confederate stars and bars (because, well, you know) and it now looks like a drunken Texas flag.

The best flags in the union — Texas, California, Wyoming, and Washington — only have a passing glimmer of their former selves.

California’s flag doesn’t even have that iconic bear anymore. I’m not even a Californian and I would proudly display the California flag on my wall. Because bears.

“Removing the bear was a controversial decision on my part, one that might change. I debated for a while at the time when I did it, and I might add it back in,” says Mitchell. “The Bear Flag Revolt was such an important part of California’s history that it probably should not be removed from the flag.”

George Washington was replaced by an eagle on the Washington state flag. Wyoming at least got to keep their buffalo. New York gets their Lady Liberty, and if you look at the new Louisiana rag, it looks like a pair of pants Elvis would have worn on stage. Rhode Island’s new flag looks like it would make a really cool tattoo.

As for the Texas flag, Mitchell says that it almost didn’t need changing (damn right) but he did want to have some fun with it, while still emphasizing the lone star it has now. It wouldn’t be a true complete redesign project if he only did 49 states, after all.

“The goal is to make it even more iconic by enlarging the star. The red represents the Native Americans who used to live there, and the white represents purity and uprightness,” he wrote. I’m still confused about what is pure about Texas. You ever been to spring break at South Padre Island or anywhere in East Texas?

My photographer friend Julian Bajsel was confused by the symbolism behind the new Texas flag.

“It might be more relevant if the outer border symbolized the Mexican army surrounding the Alamo or something along those lines,” he said.

Catherine Couturier runs an art gallery in Houston and she doesn’t think we need to all fit into one box. Besides, it would smell really bad. My words, not hers.

“No need to make us all match. The diversity that divides us also makes us great,” she says. “The motto of our nation is ‘From many, one,’ not ‘From super similar things, one.’”

Mitchell has a few favorites in the new set of flags he has created.

“There are a handful I really enjoy, Maryland is an example of one of them,” Mitchell says. “They had a good flag to begin with, but I like the simple refinement for the new flag.”

Of course he has a soft spot for the flag of his home state of Ohio. Overall, Mitchell says the new flags just look really great together.

“One of my favorite things is the way they sit together as a group. They are not perfect by any means, but I do like the way they read when they are together.”

Obviously, these flags are not replacing any of the real state flags anytime soon. Mitchell is enjoying some of the extreme responses he has been getting since they went viral. He didn’t think they would cause such a social media scene. There have been requests to buy posters and even actual flag versions of the new creations. He’s glad that people are talking about them, even if he keeps getting what he calls some “pretty strongly worded tweets.”

“People either love it or hate it, with not much in between,” he says. “This indicates that there is something there that’s worth exploring or at least talking about.”

Other ideas (my own) for the Texas flag would include Nolan Ryan whipping up on Robin Ventura, the Whataburger logo, ZZ Top dressed up as gunfighters while standing outside the Alamo, an armadillo holding two revolvers, Willie Nelson playing Trigger, Bum Phillips and Tom Landry in an arm-wrestling match, Matthew McConaughey playing the bongos, and a plate of greasy barbecue surrounded by a bottle of every Texas beer.